Celia is the Adjunct Professor of Harp at Cal Baptist University and La Sierra University, Harp Instructor, University of California Riverside and former principal harpist of the Sarasota Orchestra, Florida.
Celia has been playing the harp professionally for over 30 years. During this time, she has received the highest awards and prizes in various competitions including the Anne Adams Awards, American String Teachers Association–State and National Competition, American Harp Society Competition, Redlands Bowl Competition, and Music Teachers Association Competition and was a semi-finalist in the USA International Harp Competition. She is a devoted harp teacher and has had a diverse performing career as a soloist, orchestral musician, working in recording studios and live performances across the Midwest, Florida and California. She has been a featured soloist for multiple performances at the American Harp Society National Conferences and World Harp Congress Conventions and extensively around the United States as well as Australia, Canada, France, and Mexico.
Celia holds a Bachelor of Music from La Sierra University where she studied with Dominique Piana and a Master and Doctor of Music in harp performance from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington under the direction of Susann McDonald and Ela Szmyt.
Celia completed her doctorate with a dissertation on the life and analysis of the works of Belgian Harpist-Composer Félix Godefroid. She released a recording in 2018 to commemorate the bicentennial of Félix Godefroid’s birth year, The Resplendent Music of Félix Godefroid, vol 1, and presented two concerts at the American Harp Society National Convention. She is expected to release the second volume in 2026.
Celia is excited that she is now in the Harp Therapy program to become a therapeutic harpist. She is expected to complete her certification in 2024.